A/N: Before reading this chapter allow me to add the disclaimer I know nothing of the medical field. Thank you again to my reader who helps me with the medical portion of this story. This is more or less a filler chapter again.
"Ladies the nurse will be in to take Olivia to...Whoa would you like me to give you a few more minutes." Dr. Mathews asked as he walked into the room seeing Alex and Olivia kissing.
"No we're fine" Olivia said laughing as she looked around Alex at the doctor.
"Actually we are quite use to the interruptions and not having a moment to ourselves." Alex answered standing and turning to face the doctor. "I take it you are here to take her to her testing."
"I am" Dr. Mathews stated as he walked forward "I will start with the EEG and go from there in about a week maybe two do a FMRI. But that is all dependent on what your surgeon says when she arrives."
"When will she get here?" Olivia asked
"Her layover was delayed in Kansas and is expected to leave within the hour. She should be arriving by hopefully no later than noon. Once she can come in and assess you we will be able to know when we can start the HBOT."
"Two questions." Olivia said looking from Alex to Dr. Mathews and then back to Alex "Why is my surgeon on a layover in Kansas I thought they were here a few hours ago when they operated on me and second why do we have to wait for my surgeon for the HBOT?"
"Your surgeon is on a layover in Kansas because she is flying in from Seattle Washington. I had Stephanie find the best surgeon for gunshot wounds to the abdomen. A Dr. Tracy Delay is apparently it but she is stationed in Seattle. She caught the first flight to New York out of SEA-TAC Airport at six thirty this morning with a layover in Kansas City International Airport. Something happened there to delay the flight but her new expectant arrival time is around eleven. We figured with her getting out of the airport and here it should be no more than thirty minutes."
"You expect her to make it here in lunch hour traffic in New York within thirty minutes of arriving." Olivia said cocking her head to the side.
"With lights and sirens yes she can." Alex said with a smile on her face "Captain Cragen has authorized Fin and Munch to use lights and sirens and all intersections blocked once she is in the car."
"Well ok then." Olivia said with laughter in her voice "Why do we have to wait on her for the HBOT?"
"HBOT has proven very helpful on the recovery of wounds." Dr. Mathews answered as he signed some paperwork a nurse handed him "I need her to assess your wound and make sure everything is in good standing so you can start the treatments. In a manner of speaking we will be killing two birds with one stone and hopefully get you back to where you were before this setback. The main thing that we are worried about with the surgery is infection at the site."
"About setbacks." Olivia mumbled as she reached for Alex's hand "I have been seeing double"
"For how long?" Mathews asked as he looked up from what he was signing.
"I'd say about three hours possibly more." Olivia answered not missing the look Alex gave her when she discovered the truth on how long the vision issue had been occurring.
"They were instructed to notify me immediately upon any changes." Dr. Mathews stated pissed that his orders were not followed.
"I didn't tell anyone until just before you arrived. They weren't keeping anything from you." Olivia sighed "What are we looking at?"
"Honestly I can't answer that question until I perform the EEG possibly the FMRI. Hopefully this is just a minor setback that can be corrected with the HBOT. But I will tell you knowing that now it can go one of two ways. Either you won't recover fully and you can give up on your career in law enforcement or a career in pretty much anything for that matter."
"Or"
"Or it means that you may need more treatments than what I originally thought and we are quite possibly back at square one. What I need to know now is have you been having any mood swings that you were the first time?"
"With the exception of what you saw last night, no." Olivia answered him.
"Actually that we could contribute to you coming out of surgery and the anesthesia making you unaware of your surroundings or what was happening. Basically your brain was still in the fight before you became unconscious. I've seen it happen before. I've actually encountered people when they come to start throwing punches because the last thing their brain remembered was being in a fight. For you the last thing you remembered was Alex being in danger. Your first instinct was to do what was needed to protect her therefore your outburst."
"That's a good thing though right?" Alex asked
"It can be yes but I truly can't answer any of those questions until I perform the tests." Dr. Mathews said as he put Olivia's chart on the foot of her bed "Now Olivia I need you to be totally honest with me here. Have you had any other issues?"
"Just this god forsaken headache that has subsided some."
"I promise you once we do the testing I will see about prescribing you something for it but honestly I wouldn't recommend and don't plan to prescribe anything stronger than Tylenol. I plan to treat this just as before with very limited medications especially since this is a repeat injury. The last thing we need is for the medicine to mask any problems or issues that you may have."
"I understand."
"Good now if you ladies don't have any other questions, I'm going to give you ladies a few minutes alone and send a nurse in to take you to the testing room."
"I don't" Olivia answered as she looked up at Alex who shook her head no.
"Very well I will see you in less than ten minutes Olivia." Dr. Mathews said as he made his way out the door.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Alex asked once she was sure they were alone.
"I didn't want you to worry." Olivia said as she patted the bed for Alex to take a seat "How much is this new specialist costing you?"
"Honestly I have no clue nor do I care. The same thing stands as for the first time we were in this boat. I don't care how much it costs me you will receive the best care the US can provide. If at any point you get that thought in your head that you need to stop the treatments or seeing the specialists knock it out now."
"Alex"
"Don't Alex me."
"Shut up and listen woman." Olivia said raising one eyebrow as if to challenge Alex "I'm never going to be able to repay you and you will never know how thankful I am for this. I hope you know and understand that the leading specialists is not needed or expected."
"I know Liv. You would be happy with whatever doctors they assigned you from here. I need you to know and need you to understand that you deserve the best, for as long as I'm capable you will receive the best."
"Come here" Olivia whispered as she struggled to sit up straighter.
"Yes"
"I…I…" Olivia stuttered unable to say the words she felt scared that she would panic Alex.
"I know" Alex whispered as she slowly lowered her head and kissed Olivia gently on the lips "When the time is right the words will flow ok."
"Ok" Olivia agreed as she heard a knock on the door and a nurse step into the room "You're here to take me to the EEG?"
"I am any questions?"
"None I've done this before." Olivia answered as she laid back in the bed.
"In that case let's get you to the test."